Georgescreek V 2

Down the ‘crick:

The Georges Creek Valley
of Western Maryland

Patrick H. Stakem

©2011

Number 08 in Western Maryland Series
Version 2, 2015

i

Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

The Companies 6

Mining Companies 6

Railroads 8

Industry 14

The Iron Furnace 14

The Silk Mill 15

The Glass Plant 17

Other Industry 17

The Towns 18

Georges Creek Miscellany 26

The C&O Canal at Georges Creek 28

Bibliography 30

2

Introduction

This is a work about the Georges Creek Valley in Allegany County, Western Maryland. The Georges
Creek Valley is defined by Dan’s Mountain to the east, and Savage Mountain to the West, part of the
Appalachian range. Portions of Savage Mountain form the Eastern Continental Divide, separating
watersheds draining to the Ohio River and those draining to the Potomac River. The history of the
settlement of the Georges Creek Valley is the history of coal. George Washington was familiar with the
area from his various trips in the wilderness. Once populated entirely by Native Americans, the region
was settled by the English, with families from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

There is not one comprehensive work on the history of this region, it's people and industries. This
current book is a start. With more material becoming available on the Internet, research becomes easier.
Family history's and oral traditions are going online every day. It is the author's hope that this work can
be upgraded, corrected, and expanded.

The Historian Thomas Scharf said that the Georges Creek Valley transformed from an “almost virgin
territory” to “one contiguous street and town, twenty- four miles in length, inhabited by miners and their
families.” The Georges Creek valley stretches from Frostburg to Westemport, Maryland. Along the
way, you will find at least that many named towns, each with its own story to tell. The Georges Creek
region contains one of the major coal deposits in Appalachia, the fabled “Big Vein.” The Big Vein is a
14-foot thick seam of low-sulfur bituminous coalt. Maryland State Road 36 and the Georges Creek
Railway twist and turn and cross the creek many times. South of Midland, the abandoned roadbed of
the Georges Creek and Cumberland Railroad is visible, but the trolley tracks that ran down the middle
of the road are long gone. At one time, some 5,000 men labored in the deep mines of the Georges
Creek region, bringing black gold to the insatiable markets of industry and homes.

Georges Creek is named for the son of Nemacolin, a prominent Native American Delaware Chief.
Lonacona, or George Washington Cresap, was the son of Nemacolin..

After his father Checkoconnicon became old, Nemacolin became chief of 160 warriors and moved his
tribe from Uniontown area to Fort Redstone, PA (now known as Brownsville). During this time the
Virginia Government asked Thomas Cresap to blaze a trail through the mountains from Cumberland to
Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh, PA). This was to facilitate the westward expansion movement of the Ohio
Company to the Ohio River and for development of immigrant communities. In 1751 Thomas Cresap
asked his friend Nemacolin to help him in blazing this trail because he knew that Nemacolin would
know the easiest way over the mountains.

Nemacolin and his sons, Fonacona and William proceeded to Oldtown, MD, to help Cresap map out
the old Indian trail leading to Fort Redstone, PA on the Monongahela River. This trail became known
as Nemacolin's Path and then became the National Road (Rt. 40) in 1806. When Thomas had
successfully mapped out the trail, he left Nemacolin at Fort Redstone, and travelled back to his home
in Oldtown, Maryland. Nemacolin's son Fonacona (born before 1738 in Ft. Redstone) asked
permission from his father to return to Maryland, as he had become good friends with Daniel Cresap,
Thomas' oldest son, and wished to live near him in Rawlings, MD. Nemacolin gave his permission, and
Fonacona took his wife and family back with Daniel. Thomas Cresap had named Fonacona, George
Washington Cresap, to protect him from anti-native American violence.

Fonacona died around 1790 in the home of his friend Dan, and he is buried in the Cresap Cemetery in

3

Rawlings, MD. Lonacona's daughter Teresa married William Workman of Mt. Savage, MD. Later,
William moved his family to Kerens, WV. (From the article "Chief Nemacolin— A Delaware Indian
Fleadman" by Alma Irene King-Finney.)

In August of 1789, a survey by Col. George Gilpin and James Smith went “From the Mouth of Savage
to the Mouth of Georges Creek.. to the mouth of New Creek... to Fort Cumberland.” This Survey was
done for the Potomack Company, for a potential canal extending to tidewater at Georgetown.

The origin of the Western Maryland coal business began in the early 19th century when a 14-foot thick
seam of bituminous coal referred to as The Big Vein was discovered. This coal region became famous
during the industrial revolution in the 1 9th century for its clean-burning low sulfur content that made it
ideal for making iron, powering ocean steamers, riverboats, locomotives, steam mills, and machine
shops. However, coal production was limited by transportation, and did not really become important
until after the B&O Railroad reached Cumberland in 1842. In 1850, the opening of the Chesapeake &
Ohio Canal from Georgetown to Cumberland provided another route for coal shipments. The cost of
transportation dropped, and the coal market took off.

By 1850, some thirty coal companies were mining the George’s Creek Valley, producing over 60
million tons of coal between 1854 and 1891. The Consolidation Coal Company, Consol, was established
in 1864 and headquartered in the city of Cumberland, MD for its first 85 years (1864-1945).

Western Maryland's yearly coal production reached about 1 million tons in 1865, and exceeded 4
million tons by the turn of the century. It reached an all-time high of about 6 million short tons in 1907.
Mine workers would receive 50 cents per ton. A small amount of the coal production in the early 1900s
was premium blacksmithing coal that was specially processed and delivered in boxcars to customers
throughout the United States and Canada.

There are small but workable deposits of iron ore in the Valley. Christian Detmold, the operator of the
Iron Furnace in Lonaconing was responsible for the construction of an early tram road in 1847 from
Lonaconing to Clarysville, to connect with the Eckhart Rail Road. This was an attempt to provide
transportation for iron goods from Lonaconing. The tram road was horse powered, and used wagons on
wooden rails, covered with strap iron. The Georges Creek Railroad connected Lonaconing with the
B&O railhead at Piedmont, which was also a target for the extended C&O canal. Originally intended to
transport finished iron from the furnace at Lonaconing, the line quickly switched over to being a coal
carrier.

The B&O Railroad reached Piedmont, Virginia (now, West Virginia) opposite Westernport, MD, in
July 1851. The Georges Creek Coal & Iron company built their line from Piedmont to Lonaconing in
1852. That line was acquired in 1863 by the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad. The shops and
engine house at Lonaconing were used until 1867.

Westernport and Piedmont, separated by the Potomac River, became a logical target for connection of
the Georges Creek region with other railroads or the canal. One of the two proposed paths for the canal
westward from Cumberland to the Ohio River would have passed through Westernport. Unfortunately,
the Canal Company ran out of money, and stopped at Cumberland.

The people of the Georges Creek Valley were emigrants from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall,
Poland, Italy, and other European lands. They worked the mines, ran the railroads, and gave each town
along the way its unique character.

4

The Federal Government was a major consumer of coal, and coal demand exploded during the Civil
War, as more new-fangled steam ships were being built. The iron clad Monitor, after her battle at
Flampton Roads, came back to the Washington Navy Yard for refitting and repair, and was restocked
with Georges Creek coal.

Georges Creek Days is held each year in Lonaconing, MD, to celebrate the people and history of the
region. There is a noticeable local dialect and pronunciation in the area, said to be similar to the Scots-
English spoken in Ontario Providence of Canada. The author has been accused of having “a Canadian
accent.”

Acknowledgments

A partial list of people and organizations that helped me with this work include: the archives of the
Western Maryland Railway Historical Society, Union Bridge, MD; the archives of the Western
Maryland Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, Cumberland, MD; the C&O Canal
Historical Society; the C&O Canal Visitors Centers, Cumberland; Karen Gray, PhD, at the C&O Canal
NHP Library in Hagerstown, MD; A1 Feldstein; Frank Tosh, Arlington, Va., Traction/Trolley Expert
Extraordinaire; Mel Collins, and The Preservation Society of Allegany County, Cumberland, MD; The
Allegany County Library System, including the Georges Creek Branch; The Appalachian Collection at
Allegany College of Maryland; Bob Bantz; William Bauman; Eileen Carlton; and many others.

For updates and new information, I can use more help.

The author

The author was bom and raised in Cumberland, Maryland. His ancestors had emigrated from Co.
Wicklow in Ireland during the U.S. Civil War, and settled in Lonaconing. They became coal miners.
The author’s grandfather was a Magistrate, and later, Mayor, in Midland, Md.

Dedication

To the sturdy pioneers who settled in the Georges Creek Valley, leaving their homelands to seek their
fortune and liberty in the New World.

Series

The author has published other related books, that expand on topics discussed in this one. These
include, The Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad Revisited; Tracks along the Ditch, the
Interrelationships between the C&O Canal and the Railroads', History of the Industrial Revolution in
Western Maryland; Lonaconing Residency, Iron Technology and the Railroad, all available in e-book
format. An in-depth look at the Iron facility at Lonaconing, and its influence on the later facility is in
work.

Front cover picture, Dan's Rock, showing the various communications antennas. The Valley of the
Georges Creek in the background. Photo by author.

5

The Companies

This section discusses the Companies that drove the early economy of the Georges Creek Valley.
Necessarily, they are mostly extractive industries, with some manufacturing. Raw materials formed the
basis of the early economy. This was closely followed by the need for transportation. Small
manufacturing establishments sprung up in the Valley, providing an alternative to the mines, and
employment for women. Schools and churches sprang up in the various communities, usually
consisting of single ethnic and religious groups. Baseball rivalries joined the communities. Families
thrived. Infrastructure was built, roads, rail lines, towns, churches, Jstores, baseball fields.

Mining Companies

Borden Mining Company

The Borden Mining Company was incorporated by the Maryland Legsilature in 1847. The Borden
family had an industrial empire in Fall River, Massachusets, and needed coal. Mining of coal began in
1850, and lasted until 1899. The Borden Minign Company shipped coal via the C&O Canal at
Cumberland to Georgetown, where it owned a wharf property. Coal would then go by coastal ship
north to Fall River, Mass.

Georges Creek Coal & Iron Company

The Georges Creek Coal & Iron (GCC&I) Company was formed in 1835, and chartered in the State of
Maryland on March 29, 1836. The president was John Henry Alexander, who also happened to be the
Maryland State Engineer. Also associated with the company was Philip C. Tyson. Between 1837 and
1839, the company built an iron furnace at Lonaconing. The furnace, fueled by coke, went into blast in
1839. The company had leased the furnace to Detmold, but later took it back. After that, Georges Creek
Coal & Iron operated it sporadically. The furnace produced 1,860 tons of pig iron in its last active year,
1855. It was then shut down, and abandoned. The railroad portion of the Company was sold to the C&P
Railroad in 1863. In 1910, it became the Georges Creek Coal Company, and operates to this day. James
Millholland was listed as the Second Vice President of the Georges Creek Coal & Iron Company in
1869. He was also the President of the Georges Creek and Cumberland Railway.

Consolidation Coal

The Consolidation Coal Company was established in 1 864 and headquartered in Cumberland, MD, for
it's first 85 years (1864-1945). During this time, the company became the largest bituminous coal
company in the eastern United States.

The company's origin began in the early 19th century when a 14-foot thick seam of bituminous coal
referred to historically as The Big Vein “was discovered in the Georges Creek Valley in Western
Maryland. By 1850, some 30 coal companies were mining the Georges Creek Valley, producing over
60 million tons of coal from 1854 to 1891. The Consolidated Coal Company was formed as a
consolidation of the many small coal mine and railroad companies of Western Maryland founded
during the rush years. The Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad was owned by the Consolidation Coal
Company.

The Western Maryland region's coal production increased about 1 million short tons in 1865, exceeded

6

4 million short tons by the turn of the century, and reached an all time high of about 6 million short
tons in 1907.

Sharp declines in coal demand after 1920, reflecting downturns in the economy, recurrent labor
problems and the extensive replacement of coal by petroleum led to further consolidations and mergers
in the coal industry. In 1945, Consolidated Coal Company merged with the Pittsburgh Coal Company,
and the corporate headquarters was moved from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. In 1966 the Continental Oil
Company (Conoco) purchased the assets of Consolidation Coal Company, and in 1981 DuPont
purchased Conoco. As of 1999 the company has renamed itself Consol Energy, reflecting the
diversification of the business into other forms of energy. It is still in operation as of this writing.

Eonaconing Ocean Coal Mining and Transportation Company

The company was authorized in 1853 by the Maryland State Legislature. It was formed by William H.
Aspinwall, Edward Cunard, Auguste Belmont, Joseph B. Varnum, Jonathan Meredith, Edward J.
Woolsey, and James L. Graham. They were authorized to mine coal, and to build railroads as needed in
Allegany County, or purchase or lease them. They could own and operate steam or sailing vessels.
They could condemn land they needed for the railroad projects. They were authorized to collect
transportation tolls of three cents per ton-mile on merchandise and two cents per mile for passengers
traveling on its railroad..

If you wanted to set up a mining and transportation company in 1853, it would be hard to pull together
a better set of directors:

William Henry Aspinwall (December 16, 1807 - January 18, 1875) was an American businessman. In
1832, he became president of the "Howland & Aspinwall" merchant firm, which had been founded by
his cousin and expanded trade to South America, China, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the East and
West Indies. In 1848, he founded the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. He then promoted the Panama
Railroad across the Isthmus. He retired in 1856 but remained active as a philanthropist He was a
founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art, in New York City.

Edward Cunard was the son of Sir Samuel Cunard of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sir Samuel founded the
Cunard Line, a British shipping Company, which still operates with a Headquarters in London. The
mining company would give the steamship line an assured source of premium coal.

August Belmont, Sr. was born in the German region of Hesse. He immigrated to New York in 1837
after becoming the American representative of the Rothschild banking house in Frankfurt. He founded
August Belmont & Company believing that he could replace the defunct American Agency with his
company. It was an instant success, and Belmont was able to straighten out the Rothschild interests in
the United States between 1837 and 1842. On receiving his American citizenship, he married Caroline
Slidell Perry, daughter of Commodore Matthew Perry.

Joseph B. Varnum was associated with the Mt. Savage Iron Company, and the railroads. He built the
Vamum House, a hotel in Mount Savage.

Jonathan Meredith, b. 1784, was a commercial lawyer in Baltimore; council for the Bank of the United
States and the Bank of Baltimore. He had the acquaintance of every President from Washington to

7

Grant. Politically well-connected, he was.

Edward J. Woolsey, of Woolsey Mansion, Astoria, Long Island (built 1726), was also a Director of the
Delaware & Hudson Canal and Railroad Co., 1860.

James Lorimer Graham (1804-1882) was an American lawyer specializing in real estate. He was
president of the Metropolitan Insurance Company in New York City.

The Lonaconing Ocean Coal Mining and Transportation Company changed its name, with the
concurrence of the Maryland State Legislature, to the Ocean Steam Coal Company in 1872.

Other coal company’s included the American Coal Company, Swanton and Caledonia Mines, Davis &
Reeman, the Piedmont Coal & Iron Company, the Potomac Coal Co., the Swanton Mining Co., the
Georges Creek Mining Co., the Barton Coal Mining Co., and many others. Some were family
operations, with the father, sons, and uncle's working a vein on a farm. Some were one-man operations.

Railroads

The first railroad in the region was the Georges Creek, built, too late as it turned out, to move pig iron
down to Westernport from the furnace at Lonaconing. Westemport, on the Potomac river was the
connection points for the B&O going east, and for the proposed extension of the C&O Canal and the
B&O Railroad to the West.

Georges Creek Rail Road

The Georges Creek Rail Road was never chartered as a separate business entity, but was always a part
of Georges Creek Coal & Iron. In September of 1851, railroad construction began up the Georges
Creek from Westemport, where the B&O had reached Piedmont across the Potomac in Virginia. The
railroad was opened on May 9, 1853. The Maryland State Legislature authorized the GCC&I to allow
pedestrian, livestock, and wagon traffic over their bridge, and to collect tolls. Live cents per person,
five cents per cow, three cents per smaller livestock, and ten cents per wheel. The tolls could only be
collected from a user once per day for use of the bridge.

In June 1853, a total of 1,061 tons of coal were shipped. In all of 1855, 225,000 tons of coal was
shipped, sometimes in 102 car trains. Iron ore or cast iron did not figure into the shipments. In 1856,
the line was extended from Lonaconing northward to connect with the C&P from Lrostburg. The
Georges Creek Coal & Iron Company’s 9.2 mile railroad was acquired by the C&P on October 23,
1863. The shops and engine house at Lonaconing were used until 1867.

Georges Creek Railway

The Georges Creek Railway is a modem small Class-Ill railroad, doing switching services at the paper
mill in Westernport. In 2011, it acquired the rail line up the Georges Creek from Morrison’s to the end
of track near Midlothian. The rail line has adopted as its trademark, “Rails to the Big Vein,” initiated
by author Deane Mellander in his Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad Book. This logo will be
appearing on railcars and motive power. George's Creek plans to put the rail line back into service, and
re-energize the coal trade in the region by providing transportation services to the Port of Baltimore.

8

Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad

March 13, 1850, marked the date of incorporation of the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad (C&P)
Company, as approved by the legislature of the State of Maryland. In 1887, the C&P filed a charter in
the State of West Virginia. The Commissioners of the company in Maryland were Robert Garrett, John
Q. Hewlett, P.H. Sullivan, all of Baltimore, William Price and George A. Thruston, lawyers of
Cumberland, and Andrew Stewart and Edward D. Gayzan of Pennsylvania.

“That the President and Directors of said Company shall be, and they are hereby invested with all the
rights and powers necessary to the construction and repair of a Railroad from the town of Cumberland,
to some suitable point on the dividing line between the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania, to be by
them determined, not exceeding sixty feet wide, with as many sets of tracks as the said President and
Directors, or a majority of them, may necessary, and they, or a majority of them may cause to be made,
or contract with others for making said Railroad, or any part of it, and they, their agents, or those with
whom they may contract for making any part of the same, or their agents, may enter upon, and use and
excavate, all lands which may be wanted for the site of said road, or the erection of warehouses or other
works necessary to said road, or for any other purpose necessary or useful in the construction or repair
of said road or its works, and that they may build bridges, may fix scales and weights, may lay rails,
may take and use any earth, timber, gravel, stone or other materials which may be wanted for the
construction or repair of any part of said road, or any of its works, and may make and construct all
works whatsoever which may be necessary and expedient, in order to the proper completion of said
road, and that they, or a majority of them, may make or cause to be made, lateral Railroads in any
direction whatsoever, in connecting said Railroad from the town of Cumberland to the dividing line
between the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and in the construction of the same or their works,
shall have, possess, and may exercise all the rights and powers hereby given to them, in order to the
construction or repair of the said Railroad, from the town of Cumberland to the dividing line between
the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania.”

The transportation rates were spelled out and fixed:

“..and they shall have power to charge for toll upon (and the transportation of persons) goods, produce,
merchandise, or property of any kind whatsoever, transported by them along said railroad, from the
town of Cumberland to the dividing line between the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania, any sum
not exceeding the following rates, namely on all goods, produce, merchandise or property of any
description whatsoever transported by them, not exceeding three cents a ton per mile for tolls, and three
cents a ton per mile for transportation, and for the transportation of passengers, not exceeding three
cents per mile for each passenger; and it shall not be lawful for any other company, or any person or
persons whatsoever, to travel upon or use any of the roads of said company, or to transport persons,
merchandise, produce or property of any description whatsoever, along said roads or any of them,
without the license or permission of the President and Directors of said company”

Later, four more commissioners, all from Baltimore, were named: James M. Buchanan, Elijah M.
Bartholow, David Stewart and Charles R. Clark.

In February 1866, it was added:

“And be it further enacted, That the President and Directors of said company shall be, and they are

9

hereby invested with full right and power to connect with any existing railroad leading from the town
of Cumberland at any point west of Cumberland, and to construct a railroad from the place of such
connection to the Pennsylvania line, or to purchase any such railroad, or any part thereof, and the lands,
franchises and appurtenances held for the purpose of the same, with power to construct and build a
connection from any railroad, or part of any railroad so purchased, from any point thereof, west of
Cumberland, the said President and Directors may choose, to the Pennsylvania line.”

And, in fact, they had to.

“And be it further enacted, That in case said President and Directors shall purchase any existing
railroad, or part of such road as aforesaid, or in case they shall make any connection With any existing
railroad, and construct such connection to the Pennsylvania line as aforesaid, then so much of said Act,
being the twentieth section thereof, as declares such charter forfeited, in case the road provided for in
the twelfth section thereof is not commenced in six years after the passage of said Act, and shall not be
completed in twelve years from the commencement thereof, shall be inoperative and void.”

But this was subsequently repealed:

“And it be enacted, That the said Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company, be, and it is hereby
wholly relieved from any obligation to construct a railroad to the Pennsylvania line, acid that the
twentieth section of said original act imposing a forfeiture in relation thereto, be and the same is hereby
repealed.”

And they didn’t necessarily have first choice:

“Provided, that the Pittsburgh and Connellsville Rail Road Company, as proposed to be chartered, by a
bill now pending, in the laying out and constructing their road from the town of Cumberland to the
Pennsylvania line, shall have priority of choice over any road to be laid out or constructed by the said
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Rail Road Company in the right of way.”

By construction and acquisition, the Cumberland & Pennsylvania built itself into a formidable position,
as noted by the Assembly in 1906:

“Whereas, The tracks of the said Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company now extend from
Cumberland, in Allegany county, Maryland, to Piedmont, in the State of West Virginia, running
through the entire coal basin of said Allegany county, and to a very large extent controlling the entire
output of coal in this State.”

The Assembly also noted:

“It is now apparent that the extensive corporate rights and franchises granted by this State to the said
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company are not now being used and exercised for the
purpose intended by the State, but on the other hand are being used to the detriment of the material
interests of the State and in such a way as to promote the development of coal fields in the State of
Pennsylvania and West Virginia to the disadvantage of the State of Maryland.”

In a period of consolidation following the Civil War, the Cumberland & Pennsylvania absorbed all of
the pioneer mining railroads in Allegany County, including the Georges Creek Rail Road. It had

10

competition in Lonaconing later, when the rival Georges Creek & Cumberland Railway was built. And
if that were not enough track squeezed into the valley, a trolley system also linked Lonaconing and the
other towns with Frostburg, Cumberland, and Westemport.

The C&P was acquired by the Western Maryland Railroad after World War 2. The tracks down the
Creek were operated by that road, by the subsequent Chessie System, and by CSX Corporation.
Construction of Interstate-68 cut the line near Midlothian. Track remains on the southern section. It
was acquired by start-up shortline Georges Creek Railway.

Cumberland & Westernport Electric Railway

In the 1 890’s, interest began to form in a trolley system to service the Georges Creek area. In 1893, the
Lonaconing and Cumberland Electric Railway was incorporated. This was followed by the
incorporation of the Frostburg, Eckhart, and Cumberland, the Lonaconing, Midland, and Frostburg, and
the Westemport & Lonaconing by 1901.

In 1901, work started from Frostburg towards Cumberland. By 1902, the line stretched from Frostburg
down the Georges Creek to Lonaconing. The first passenger run was made on April 24, 1902. At
Cumberland, an interchange was made with the Cumberland Electric Railway, a local city service.
There was a ticket office and terminus at Baltimore and Centre Streets. Hourly service was provided.
The Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railway (C&WE) was formed by merger in 1906. An
extension of the system to Salisbury, PA, and to Keyser WV were considered, but never built. Miner’s
specials ran down the Georges Creek, to provide transportation for the different shifts.

The trolleys also carried the mail and parcels over their 27 miles of standard gauge track. The growth
of freight and express service lead to the use of a freight-only trolley, making two trips per day.

Brill equipment was used, with some Southern cars being acquired later in the operation. There was a
coal burning 500 kilowatt power station and a car bam at Clarysville, serviced by the C&P. There was
an auxiliary 400 kilowatt power station at Reynolds.

By 1924, the private automobile was making inroads on ridership of the traction line. The operation
was sold to Cities Service, who replaced the trolleys with buses and freight trucks by 1925. This
scenario was repeated countless times across the United States, as the General Motors-backed Cities
Service phased out electric trolleys in favor of diesel trucks and buses.

11

The C&WE was not to be outdone in computational capability. The Cumberland Times newspaper
mentions on March 6, 1916, “An ingenious machine - The Cumberland & Westernport Electric
Railroad has just installed in their office a very ingenious machine that adds, subtracts, multiplies, and
divides, works proportion, cube root, and shows the positions of the decimal.”

Rail service was discontinued between Frostburg and Westernport on July 22, 1925, and between
Frostburg and Cumberland on August 4, 1926. The right-of-way and equipment was transferred to the
Cumberland & Westernport Transit Company, which held the right-of-way until 1943. The company
was dissolved in 1955.

Georges Creek & Cumberland Railroad

The Georges Creek & Cumberland (GC&C) Railroad was the creation of two mining companies, the
Maryland Coal Company, and the American Coal Company, both competitors to Consol, who couldn't
secure reasonable rates for transportation.

The Maryland Coal Company was formed in 1870, as a result of as Maryland Legislature action to
change the name of the Mutual Coal Company, chartered in 1868. An Act of the Legislature in 1878
enlarged the powers granted to the company to engage in the transportation business as well. The
American Coal Company was chartered in 1852, and similarly had its charter amended in 1878 to
allow it to engage in the railroad business. They were authorized to construct a railroad from their
mines to the C&O Canal, or the B&O Railroad.

The Maryland Coal company had mines on the west rise of the Big Vein, near Lonaconing. Their
Kingsland mine operated with 104 men in 1907, delivering 900 tons per day. It used a 42-inch gauge,
2,000 foot long tram road from the mine to a tipple on the GC&C. Their Appleton mine used the same
tipple. The tipple loaded coal into the coal hoppers, and had a facility for loading the locomotive tender
as well. The tram road operated with a 10-ton locomotive.

Maryland Coal also operated the Tyson and New Detmold mines with 52 men producing 1000 tons per
day in 1907. Here, they utilized a fireless haulage locomotive, which was charged with steam at a
central plant near the mine mouth. The 42-inch mine track was operated with 1,600 pound mine cars
that had a 5,000 pound capacity.

American Coal Company’s Jackson Mine at Pekin, and Caledonia Mine at Barton, worked the Big
Vein. From the mine mouth, a 22-ton locomotive transported the coal cars over a one mile long tram
road to a tipple on the C&P line.

In the Georges Creek Coal Region of Allegany County in the 1870's, the transportation monopoly was
controlled by the Cumberland & Pennsylvania (C&P) Railroad, which was owned by the Consolidation
Coal Company. Rival companies could not get competitive rates to move their coal from the mines to
the B&O and the canal. The solution was seen as two-fold: build a second railroad, and involve the
B&O’s rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad. The GC&C should not be confused with the earlier Georges
Creek Rail Road.

The GC&C was born out of controversy and competition with the C&P, and this climate of anti-
cooperation continued. The GC&C had to fight its way past the C&P into Cumberland, and then fight

12

for the right to reach the canal over B&O trackage. The first fight was at the west end of Cumberland,
an area known as City Junction. The GC&C had to cross the C&P's Potomac Wharf Branch, which was
there first. The Pennsylvania Railroad in Maryland line had been built from the Pennsylvania state line
to the west side of the Narrows. It was their intent to continue down the north side of the Narrows,
along with the C&P and B&O mains, to Cumberland. The C&P persuaded the other road to bridge
Will's Creek, and continue down the south side of the Narrows, then cross the C&P's Potomac Wharf
Branch at City Junction. When the line was built to City Junction, the C&P changed its mind. It kept an
engine parked at the intended crossing point, blocking construction. When the engine was a bit late
getting back into position one day, the GC&C trackmen forced the crossing. The C&P trackmen tore it
out. Tempers flared. The C&P raised its trackbed, making crossing impossible. The final issues were
decided in court, in favor of allowing the GC&C crossing with due compensation. Then, the B&O did
not want to grant the GC&C trackage rights to reach the canal terminus, and that issue also had to be
resolved in court.

The Western Maryland Railroad purchased the controlling stock interests of the GC&C on January 17,
1907. The GC&C was a small but key part of the Gould master plan for a transcontinental railroad link.
The financial panic of 1907 put an end to these grand schemes. Bankruptcy followed. Operation of the
GC&C was taken over by the newly reorganized Western Maryland Railway in July of 1913. A full
merger and consolidation took place on January 23, 1917. The line was operated until 1939, when the
Western Maryland abandoned the track from Georges Creek Junction to Midland. Mines west of
Midland were then served through an interchange with the C&P at Jackson Junction, north of
Lonaconing.

From 1869 to 1879, James A. Millholland, son of the James who set up the C&P shops, was the second
vice-president of the C&P. He was lured away to become General Manager, later President, of the
Georges Creek and Cumberland Railroad. Part of the deal was his new house, located behind the
Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Washington Street in Cumberland.

The GC&C started as two separate pieces, the line to Vale Summit and Lonaconing called the GC&C,
and the connection to Pennsylvania, called the Pennsylvania Railroad in Maryland. These were merged
under the name Georges Creek and Cumberland. Later, the Connellsville Extension of the Western
Maryland Railroad was built under the umbrella of the GC&C. On July 1, 1913, the GC&C was
formally absorbed into the Western Maryland system, and the Connellsville extension became WM
trackage, as did the Pennsylvania Railroad in Maryland. This ended the hope of extending the original
Georges Creek & Cumberland line.

The Juniata Lumber Company's railroad is discussed in the section on the Town of Midlothian.

13

Industry

The Iron Furnace

The Georges Creek Coal & Iron Company was formed in 1835, and chartered in the State of Maryland
on March 29, 1836. The president was John Henry Alexander, who also happened to be the Maryland
State Engineer. Between 1837 and 1839, the company built an iron furnace at Lonaconing. The
furnace, fueled by coke, went into blast in 1839. There was plenty of iron ore, limestone, water, and
coal locally, but the major problem the company faced was transporting finished products to market.
Production reached 75 tons per week, and local iron needs were quickly satisfied. Some products were
shipped out by wagon, including such items as dowels for the C&O Canal walls. The adjacent casting
house made farming implements, mine car wheels and track, and household utensils. The furnace
output was in the form of cast pig iron, which was sold to be recast, or worked.

Ore for the furnace came from mines on the hill behind the furnace. Tram roads were used to transport
the ore to the furnace. Later, the mine tunnels were used as storage cellars by residents on the hill. Ore
was also mined on the opposite hillside, above the (later) silk factory, and the area around Buck Hill.
Ore also came from Koontz. The Tilley Field was on Hugh Weir’s property, on the east side of a fork of
Laurel Run. Another tunnel was located on the Philip Hansel land, just south of Tilley Field. It was
reported to be 6 feet high, and a 100 feet long. From 1848 through 1858, ore came from the area around
Pompey Smash (Vale Summit), on the south side of Dan's Rock Road.

One key ingredient of a blast furnace is the blast. The company bought the necessary machinery from
the West Point Foundry in New York City. The machinery went by ship from New York to
Georgetown, then by canal to Williamsport. Here, the parts were loaded on wagons for the final leg of
the journey. The canal charged $3.50 per ton to transport the twenty tons of machinery parts. Only the
boilers made it to Lonaconing before the canal froze in the winter of 1837. Ten additional wagon loads
from Williamsport arrived at the site in November.

The blast machinery featured a 60-horsepower steam engine fed by five boilers. The steam cylinders
were 18" in diameter, and 8 feet long. The system operated at a pressure of 50 pounds per square inch
(psi). The steam cylinder drove a blast cylinder 5 feet in diameter, and 8 feet long. This forced about
3500 cubic feet per minute of air at 2.5 psi through the system. A very large iron regulator smoothed
the air flow from the reciprocating cylinder. The air flowed through a series of pipes in the boiler
furnaces and was heated to 700 degrees F. The heated air then entered the blast furnace through two big
water cooled nozzles called tuyeres. When the water supply failed, the furnace had to be operated with
a less efficient cold blast. The first run of good iron came from the furnace on May 17, 1839. By May
23, the furnace was producing six tons per day. Seven tons of coal were required to produce one ton of
the cast metal.

Lonaconing was run by the Company as an enclave of Industrial Feudalism. It was on its way to
becoming the Wales of America. At least, that was the language of choice, spoken by the emigre iron
workers.

With production going well, iron piled up in Lonaconing. In 1842, sales of pig iron to foundries in
Cumberland were begun, with delivery by wagon. An adjacent sawmill and lumberyard, also owned by
the company, recorded sales to the Mount Savage Iron Works, then involved in building their own

14

furnaces. In the fall of 1842, pig iron was offered to the B&O railroad at a price of $29. per ton, but
delivery was still a problem. After experimenting with a horse powered tram road, the company
realized that a rail line, built down the Georges Creek Valley toward the Potomac River at Westemport,
would be the answer to the transportation issue. The rail line was finished from Lonaconing to
Piedmont in 1853, where it connected with the recently arrived B&O Railroad. It was, unfortunately,
too late to provide the needed market access for the Lonaconing Iron Furnace. The furnace in
Lonaconing was abandoned in 1855, and the canal was never extended past Cumberland. Coal, not
iron, became the most important commodity shipped out of the region on the railroad. The works had
employed 220 men.

After Detmold operated the furnace facility successfully for a few years, the Company took it back.
After that, Georges Creek Coal & Iron operated it sporadically. The furnace produced 1,860 tons of pig
iron in its last active year, 1855. It was then shut down, and abandoned. Harvey states that the furnace
facility was too technologically advanced for its time. However, it provided an impetus for the mining
industry and for the construction of the railroad, and served as a model for a similar iron working
facility built at Mount Savage. There was technology sharing and cooperation between the facilities at
Lonaconing and at Mount Savage. The Lonaconing facility produced wrought iron dowels and lock
gate hinges for the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal construction.

The furnace complex at Lonaconing was visited by the Superintendent of Construction for the B&O, a
Mr. Casper Wever, Esq., in June of 1839. Shortly afterwards, the shareholders of the C&O Canal
visited. With the furnace up and operating, the facility expansion plans included a forge and rolling
mill. However, these were never built. The company began to concentrate on the railroad to meet with
the canal and the railroad at Westernport. By 1850, surveys were complete.

The furnace sat idle for many years. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places, and was
rehabilitated and stabilized by the firm of Meyers and D’Aleo, Inc. of Baltimore.

The Silk Mill

The idea for a silk mill in Lonaconing, Maryland, began on a train’s smoking car in the early 1900s.
Mr. Duncan Sloan, local banker, became a salesman for his hometown when he overheard that the
Klots Throwing Company was looking for a suitable site for a new plant. Mr. Sloan emphasized the
availability of surplus labor and cheap fuel in the region. The coal industry that the region depended
upon was notorious for layoffs due to periods of slackening demand, so the mill would supplement
wages and provide for more steady employment. He also stressed Lonaconing's access to rail
transportation in an effort to persuade the representative that his town would be the ideal location for a
new mill. Five weeks after the smoking car meeting, Mr. George Klots, and Mr. J. H. Britton,
representing the company, proposed erecting Klots Throwing Mill Company in Lonaconing. A dialog
between the New York-based company and the town began. Shortly after the proposal was made, a
public meeting occurred at the Evans Opera House in Lonaconing. The town citizens decided to accept
the offer made by Mr. Klots and Mr. Britton. At the meeting, the decision was made to establish a
committee of seven businessmen to seek bonds that were to be made payable to the Lonaconing
Savings Bank. Proceeds from the bond issue would finance construction costs. The total cost for
building and equipping the mill was estimated to be about $100,000. The town and the committee were
able to furnish at least $47,000 of the $100,000. A piece of land, 250’ by 400’, was purchased along
Railroad Street to be the home of the new facility. Ground was broken by the S.W. Wise Construction
Company of Cumberland on August 13, 1905.

15

In 1907 George Klots of New York opened a silk throwing mill in Lonaconing, Maryland, to take
advantage of the inexpensive labor and cheap coal available in this coal mining area. The operation
depended heavily on the labor of women and young children, who were not be employed by the mining
industry. Labor conditions improved through the years, and the mill continued production until 1957,
when synthetic fibers encroached on the traditional silk fabric market.

There were similar Klots Throwing mills in Scranton, Carbondale, Archibald, and Forrest City, PA and
Fredericksburg, VA. There was also a Klots Mill in Cumberland on Gay Street. This still stands as a
60,000 square foot brick industrial building, being converted to housing.

Beginning with a crew of mostly youngsters, some as young as seven, the mill became part of an
American silk throwing dynasty with 14 mills, 6,000 workers, and $50 million dollars in annual sales.
In the 1930s, the company added rayon to its products. With the 1940s came a wartime silk shortages
and the rise of synthetic libers. The dynasty collapsed several years before the last production run in
1957, when reelers, coners, and testers walked away from what was now General Textile Mill and
never returned. The doors closed and time froze inside. This remains the only intact silk mill in the
United States.

Photo by author.

The raw silk came from the Orient to the West Coast of the United States via fast sailing ship, and was
transferred to express trains for the journey east. This was a time-sensitive cargo, and the silk trains
were given privilege even over passenger trains. The manufacture of silk was a multi-step process.
Raw silk came from Italy, Spain, India, China and Japan. The fibers were reeled into skeins containing
1 to 2 ounces of silk each. The skeins were bundled into large bales of 200 pounds each. These bales
were imported into the United States.

Raw silk was too coarse to be worked as it came from the bales, and it contained a natural gum that had
to be removed. Thus, the first step in the processing of silk was to wash it in large vats. Next, the silk
was wrung out and allowed to dry. This process was known as “throwing.” From there, the silk went
into the winding process. The skeins were opened, placed on an apparatus called a “swift” and attached
to a spool. The silk was wound onto the spools. In some cases, depending upon its intended use, the
thread had to be doubled. If so, two or more threads were united on one spool. The spools, or bobbins,
of silk were then twisted, reeled and made into new skeins that were taken to be dyed.

16

The mill was run by steam, with an extensive arrangement of overhead line shafts to drive the mills by
leather belts. The throwing mill produced silk thread from the raw silk, which was then wound on
bobbins. This product was in turn shipped, mostly by rail, to weaving plants near Reading,
Pennsylvania to make cloth, ribbon, and finished products. The silk mill had its own rail siding off of
the C&P line. The Company still exists as General Textile Mills.

The Glass Plant

Between the Silk Mill and the railroad tracks, a glass factory was built in 1914 by Thomas and Alfred
Dugan. The Dugan Glass Company was operating by November, and sent two tableware patterns to the
Pittsburgh Glass Exhibit in December. Evidence from an ad in China. Glass & Lamps magazine for
February of 1915 shows a series of products being made by the works.

In March of 1915, the Dugans quit the business. Alfred went to a glass company in Indiana that the
brother had started some years before. Thomas went to the Hocking Glass Company in Ohio. The local
company became known as the Lonaconing Glass Company, and changed its product line from pressed
to blown glass. A wartime shortage of natural gas caused a closing of the plant in 1918. The plant
opened again in 1920 as the Utility Glass Company, making federally mandated non-glare headlight
lens for automobile lights. They also produced some pressed and blown glass, and did acid etching.

The factory closed in 1929, but was reopened again by The Sloan Brothers (Alexander and Dixon) as
The Sloan Glass Company. The brothers had lost their Potomac Glass Company (Cumberland) to a
fire. Bad luck followed them, as the Lonaconing plant burned on March 6, 1932.

Other Industry

Lonaconing also hosted the Lonaconing Savings Bank, an Ice manufacturing and storage company, a
printing company, and a weekly newspaper, the Advocate.

Midland was the site of the Midland Manufacturing Company, that made “Fine shirts, Miners' and
Lumberman's Flannels, Ladies' Tailored Waists and Middy Blouses.” This was housed in a 3-story
building, and employed 25 skilled operators. The machinery was run by electricity, and the owners
were local.

17

The Towns

Many unincorporated Towns sprang up along the Georges Creek, some just a few houses, but each with
its own story to tell. Some areas were settled by people from the same area in Europe. Some were
settled by a single large family. We'll present these in alphabetical order.

Navigating the Georges Creek Region.

We'll broadly define the Georges Creek Region not only by the path of Georges Creek, which rises
south of Frostburg to flow into the Potomac at Westernport, but also include Dan's Mountain as the
easternmost boundary. The Towns and place names are presented alphabetically. A lot of the land in
the Georges Creek Valley was originally granted to veterans of the Revolutionary War for their service.
Many groups of identical houses were later built as company towns for employees.

Maryland Route 936, or Upper Georges Creek Road, winds its way from Main Street in Frostburg to
Midland. It follows the Georges Creek, and is the old two-lane alignment of Maryland Route 36.

Route 36 is the main drag of the Georges Creek Valley, a role that the Cumberland and Pennsylvania
Railroad once filled. At Midland, the original Route 36 to Frostburg becomes Route 936, and Route 55
branches off to take a more easterly approach through Vale Summit to Clarysville. Parts of the road
through the Georges Creek region is designated the Coal Heritage Trail.

Route 55 runs south from Route 40 at Clarysville, passing under Interstate 68. Just under the Interstate,
to the right, or north, is the discharge of the Hoffman Drainage Tunnel, and the site of a large horseshoe
curve once used by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad to ease the gradient into the mines at
Hoffman and Eckhart. The road leads through Pompey (Vale Summit), and intersects Route 36 (Tower
Georges Creek Road) from Frostburg. Continue on Route 55 to the North, and you will intersect Route
936 (Upper Georges Creek Road) between near Midlothian, and the source of the Georges Creek.

Upper Georges Creek Road and Tower Georges Creek Road combine at Midland, and continue to the
south as just Georges Creek Road. South of Fonaconing, Route 36 was improved, and “old” route 36
lies to the right (or North), but is not continuous.

Barton

The town named by the Reverend William Shaw for his home town in England, Barton-on-Humber.
The Shaw Mansion was part of a 1200 acre estate.

The Reverend Shaw settled in the area around 1794. His son laid out the Town in 1853. The same year,
the first shipment of coal was made on the Georges Creek Rail Road. The Town also had a water-
powered grist mill, built on Moore’s Run by Henry Ingram. It was owned and operated by Mathias
Ball. He also owned a tannery in the area. The Morrison Mill was a second grist mill, south of town on
Mill Run. Barton sported a C&P station, and a siding for the Swanton mine. It now is the home to
about 475 people. Barton suffered a bad fire in 1919, and it had no fire department at the time. It was
only brought under control by dynamiting homes in its path.

The Barton Coal Company plane, a cable railway, was built in 1854 by engineer O. D. Robbins. It
operated until 1898, and was used to bring coal down to the railroad.

18

Barton has a memorial plaque for war veterns,
Borden

Borden, or Borden Shaft, was the site of a major deep mine in the Valley. The principal owners of the
mines were the Borden family of Massachusetts. Deep mines were unusual in the area, as most were
drift mines in the Big Vein region. In 1907, the mine operator was H. and W. Hitchens Coal company.
The C&P railroad delivered the windlass for the mine, then used its railroad crane to set it in place.
Borden had a population of 235, as of 2010.

Carlos

Carlos is a family name. It was a Company town along the C&P railroad line, between Borden and
Midland.

Carlos Junction

This spot is where the rail branch to the coal mines at Carlos left the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Main
line. It is located south of Frostburg, along Route 936, the old alignment of route 36.

At Carlos Junction, the railroad branched across Georges Creek to serve several mines. Only the bridge
abutments remain, and are still visible. A water tank and station were located here, as well as an engine
house, yards, and a permanently stationed engine. Trains on the Carlos Branch were slow ordered to 8
mph.

Clarvsville

Clarysville is named after Gerald Clary, from Missouri, who owned 325 acres, and built a brick inn on
the National Road in 1807. The Inn was taken over by the Union Army for use as a Hospital during the
Civil War. That structure was unfortunately destroyed by a fire in 1999.

Clarysville was the location of a power plant for the Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railway
(trolley). It was located east of town, and was serviced by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad
for coal deliveries. The trolley ran from Cumberland to Frostburg, and then down along the Georges
creek to Westernport, in the middle of the road.

Old route 40 still passes by Clarrysville, and new Interstate 68 passes over the Town on a large bridge.
Clarysville is the site of an original stone bridge for the National Road, the exit of the Hoffman
drainage tunnel for the mines, and was along both the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, Eckhart
Branch, the Georges Creek and Cumberland Railroads, and the trolley line.

Dawson

Dawson is a family name. The collection of houses is located south of Lonaconing, along Route 36.
Detmold

The Town is named for Christian Edward Detmold of Lonaconing Iron Furnace fame. It is located

19

south of Lonaconing, along route 36. It had a population of 71 in 2010.

Dogwood Flats

This was the site of the Potomac Coal Company Mine, and Union Mining Co. Mine. It is located south
of Lonaconing, along Route 36.

Franklin

Franklin, just north of Westernport on route 36, is located on a 100 year flood plane of the Georges
Creek. It was named after the Franklin Coal Company, operator of the Franklin Mine. This was later
part of the Davis Coal and Coke Company. A section of houses of the same design usually signifies
company housing for miners.

A small crane, numbered 102, was constructed by the C&P in 1901, and consisted of a 40,000 capacity
wood underframe car equipped with a 5 ton manual crane. It was kept in Franklin. There was also a
water tank for the locomotives. An 1889 era carpenter shop, tool and oil house, office, passenger car
shed, sand house, blacksmith and supply shop, and a 1903 vintage engine house were also located
there. Nothing remains of this activity.

The White Brothers Foundry was also located at Franklin.

Gannon

Gannon is a Family name. Gannon was the site of a bridge collapse in 1887, which sent C&P engine 28
into Georges Creek. It is located south of Lonaconing along route 36. The Butner Company Mines six
and seven were located at Gannon.

Gilmore

Gilmore, south of Midland, was the site of a tannery, and a turntable for a narrow gauge mining
railroad. It was the location of mines operated by the Midland Coal and Iron company. The company
headquarters building is preserved as a dwelling. The town's population was 127 in 2010.

Jackson Junction

This is where the Georges Creek & Cumberland Railroad and the Cumberland & Pennsylvania
Railroad interchanged, north of Lonaconing. The Georges Creek and Cumberland was to the east side,
and the C&P to the west side of the creek. Most of the Georges Creek track has been removed, but the
C&P track is in place. Jackson is just north of Lonaconing.

Klondike

Klondike is a small collection of houses, that were built around the site of the Klondike mine. It is
located on Route 936, between Frostburg and Midland. It had a reported population of 118 in 2010. It
was the site of the Consolidation Coal company's Mine 17, producing 5,000 tons per day.

Knapp’s Meadow

20

Possibly the first stone house built in the George's Creek was constructed in 1797 in Knapps Meadow,
north of Lonaconing by Samuel VanBuskirk.

This was the site of a major railroad junction, where the Georges Creek and Cumberland passed over
the trolley lines and the Cumberland & Pennsylvania line on a large trestle. It is the site of the modern
Georges Creek Elementary School. This is just north of Lonaconing.

The Georges Creek & Cumberland railroad bridge abutment near the creek to the right can still be seen.
Near Jackson Junction., just past the grade crossing, was a section house where the GC&C and C&P
railroads intersected.

Lauder

Lauder was the site of 2 mines, Hoffa Number 2, and Donald. Lauder is south of Barton. It is also the
name of a town on the Scottish border.

Loarville

This small collection of houses is south of Clarysville on Route 55. Loar is a local family name.
Lonaconing

The town of Lonaconing was named for Lonacona. Georges Creek was also named for him. Lonacona
died around 1790 in the home of his friend Dan, and he is buried in the Cresap Cemetery in Rawlings,
MD. Lonacona's daughter Teresa married William Workman of Mt. Savage, MD. Later, William
moved his family to Kerens, WV. (Prom the article "Chief Nemacolin— A Delaware Indian Headman"
by Alma Irene King-Linney.) Lonacona, or George Washington Cresap, was the son of Nemacolin, a
famous Delaware Chief.

After his father Checkoconnicon became old, Nemacolin became chief of 160 warriors and he moved
his tribe from Uniontown area to Port Redstone, PA (now known as Brownsville). During this time the
Virginia Government asked Thomas Cresap to blaze a trail through the mountains from Cumberland to
Port Pitt (now Pittsburgh, PA). This was to help the westward movement of the Ohio Company to the
Ohio River and the State of Ohio for development of white communities. In 1751 Thomas Cresap
asked his friend Nemacolin to help him in blazing this trail because he knew that Nemacolin would
know the easiest way over the mountains,

Nemacolin and his sons, Lonacona and William proceeded to Oldtown, MD, to help Cresap map out
the old Indian trail leading to Pt. Redstone, PA. on the Monongahela River. This trail became known
as Nemacolin's Path and then the National Road (Rt. 40) in 1806. When Thomas had successfully
mapped out the trail, he left Nemacolin in Pt. Redstone to travel back to his home in Oldtown, MD.
Nemacolin's son Lonacona (bom before 1738 in Port Redstone, PA) asked permission from his father
to return to Maryland, as he had become good friends with Daniel Cresap, Thomas' oldest son, and
wished to live near him in Rawlings, MD. Nemacolin gave his permission, and Lonacona took his
Delaware wife and family back with Daniel. Thomas Cresap had named Lonacona, George
Washington Cresap to protect him from white violence.

21

Lonaconing sported a two passenger and a freight station, and several local industries including a
bakery, brewery, and a glass works. The first industry served was the Iron Furnace, located in the City
Park. Across Georges Creek are the rail lines, and the Silk Factory, Klott’s Throwing Mill (1906-1957),
abandoned, but frozen in time. It had its own siding, with raw silk coming in boxcars, and finished silk
thread being shipped out to fabric mills in the area of Reading, Pennsylvania. A glass factory (circa
1920) stood across from the silk mill, but burned, and no trace remains. The GC&C serviced the
passenger trade in Lonaconing from a station on the hill above the furnace. Sections of the right of way
and rail bed still remain in that area.

Lonaconing is the home of the Georges Creek Library, a branch of the Allegany County Library
system. The building was built to look like an Iron furnace. Lonaconing has a World War I memorial in
the center of Town.

Dan's Mountain State Park is accessed by Water Station Road, from Route 36 in Lonaconing. It covers
480 acres, and is managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. It is a day-use park, and
has remained mostly undeveloped, except for an Olympic-sized swimming facility. Numerous rustic
picnic pavilions are available, as is a fishing pond. The Dan's Mountain Wildlife Management area
covers over 9,500 acres.

Apples were shipped by boxcar from Charlestown (Southeast of Lonaconing), at the Sloan Farm. This
facility had its own rail siding.

The Lonaconing Coal Company operated a mine there in the early part of the 20 th century. Buffalo Coal
mine number 5 was located nearby. The Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company headquarters building
survives as a dwelling unit, adjacent to the furnace.

Arguably, the most famous native of Lonaconing is baseball player Lefty Grove. He was born in 1900,
and went on to a Major League career with Philadelphia and Boston, winning 300 games. He was
inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is buried in Frostburg, Md.

The Georges Creek region supplied many men to the Armed Forces, from the earliest days of the
Revolution to the current ongoing conflicts. There is a memorial to the World War - I veterans in
Lonaconing, opposite the library.

Midland

This small town was originally named Koontz around 1850 after an early settler in the area, Henry
Koontz. He received Military lots for his service in the Revolution. Midland has about 475 residents.
The Town may have gotten its current name by being mid- way between Frostburg and Lonaconing
(which it really isn’t), or by early Scottish residents naming it after the Scottish Midlands. It was once a
bustling town, with an Opera House, more saloons than churches, a train station, several banks, a ball
park, and a shirt factory. There is a memorial plaque on the stone wall at the north end of town, which
used to be a support for the railroad trestle, for veterans from Midland.

The town had some major rail congestion, with the confluence of the C&P, the GC&C, and the
Cumberland and Westernport Electric Railroad (C&WE). The C&P serviced several small local
industries at Midland, and maintained a freight house and station there. The late-comer GC&C crossed
through the center of town on a long wooden trestle, removed in the late 1930's.

22

Nearby is Dan’s Rock, on Dan's Mountain, a scenic overlook at 2,898 feet above sea level. One can see
three states, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania from its peak. There is a Midland Museum,
located in the Town Hall. The Thrasher Carriage Collection used to be located in the old Midland
School, as Jim Thrasher lived right outside of town. The collection is now housed near the Frostburg
Train Station, on Depot Hill.

www.midlandsroots.com This is an excellent reference website, and shows what a small community
can do with a touch of new technology, to tell its story world-wide.

Midlothian

The village of Midlothian was the site of the Bowery iron furnaces. These were two coke-fired furnaces
built in 1868 by Cumberland Coal and Iron. There was a source of carbonate iron ore on the hill to the
northeast, tapped by a tram road. Limestone was available from a hill to the east. The furnaces
produced pig iron, and operated from 1874 to 1880. The pig iron was shipped by rail on the C&P via a
spur line off the main. The product went to Cumberland.

From Midlothian Junction, the C&P made a connection with a logging railroad. The Juniata Lumber
Company established a circular sawmill in Midlothian, at the end of a 3 foot gauge line that extended
12 miles into Garrett County along Big Savage Mountain. A Class-B Climax geared engine was used to
haul the logs. From the sawmill, the lumber was shipped in boxcars over the Cumberland &
Pennsylvania Railroad. Twenty- five thousand board feet per day of railroad ties and dimensioned wood
were produced at peak production. The sawmill facility was closed by 1913.

Midlothian is located south of Frostburg, and to the west of Route 936. Also know as Midlothian
Junction, it has a population of 320 in 2010. It was primarily settled by Scotch immigrants, and named
after a region near Edinburgh.

Miller

Miller is a small collection of houses, just north of Midland, along Route 36. Miller is probably a
family name.

Montel

Montel is a collection of houses along Route 55, south of Clarysville. Montel is also a family name, of
French roots.

Morrisons

This is a family name. The Town was a major coal loading point on the railroad.

Moscow (Mills)

There was a large stone grist mill here built by the Shaw family of Barton. It lasted until 1961. The
large house is operated now as a bed and breakfast, the Shaw Mansion Inn
('http://shawmansioninn.com/Shaw_Mansion_Historv.htmn .

23

National

This is a small community of company houses for employees of the Cumberland & Pennsylvania
Railroad, who worked on the Carlos Branch. The houses are built to a standard plan, and originally
included a chicken coop and outhouse. The plans are preserved in the C&P papers in the National
Archives. The author's mother was bom in the second company house from Rt. 36, as her father was an
engineer on the C&P Carlos Branch, and entitled to company housing. The community also included
company housing of the Consolidation Coal Company, for the nearby mine number 10, among others.

Neffs Run

A minor spur of the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad was the Neffs Run Branch. Neffs Run is a
small creek that follows Maryland Route 55 into Midland from the north, and joins Georges Creek at
the town. The Neffs Run branch was 1.2 miles long. It ran to a Miller Company Works, probably a
coal mine, with double tracking at the end, and a load house. The line made at least 6 crossings of
Neffs Run in a mile. The line appears on the original map showing the extension of the C&P
southward from Frostburg to meet the Georges Creek Rail Road at Lonaconing. It appears to have been
built at the same time as this section of main line, around 1856. It is still shown on a 1918 C&P map,
but is gone without a trace on later maps. The exact date of abandonment and removal is unknown. No
trace of this branch can currently be found. The location is just north of Midland, towards Clarysville.

Nikep

Is this Pekin spelled backwards? It was the site of a mine tipple. It is located south of Lonaconing along
Route 36.

Ocean

This is the location of the mines of the Ocean Steamship Coal Company, later Consolidation Coal
Company mine number one. Next along the railroad were the big mines at Ocean, with major
buildings and ventilators for the shaft and drift tunnels. There was a large brick powerhouse for the
electric mine engines. Ocean is located just north of Midland on Route 936 to Frostburg.

Pompev Smash

This community is officially called Vale Summit, but legend has it that a teamster named Pompey
managed to wreck his wagon on the steep hill here. It is located along Route 36, between Clarysville to
Midland.

Phoenix

This was the site of a mine tipple for the nearby Phoenix mine.
Reynolds

Reynolds was the site of the Campbell Coal Company's Hampshire Mine. The Cumberland &
Westernport Electric trolley line had a coal-fired Power Plant at Reynolds. There was a similar plant in

24

Clarysville, serviced by the C&P Railroad for coal deliveries.

Shaft - see, Borden Shaft.

Vale Summit

see Pompey Smash. A paved road reached the town around 1921, from Clarysville,.
Water Cliff

At Water Cliff, North of Lonaconing, there was a water tank, served by 'Water Station Run'. This was
the location for the facilities of the George's Creek Rail Road, later used by the C&P. Present day
Water Cliff Road branches off State Route 36, just before the exit for Dan's Mountain State Park. On
the road to the State Park, off Rt. 36 north of Lonaconing, the base of the water tank can still be seen.

Dan’s Mountain State Park has an Olympic sized pool, picnic pavilions, and a stocked fish pond. Dan’s
Mountain Wildlife Management area is some 9500 acres.

Westernport

Westernport is where Georges Creek reaches the Potomac River. Across the river from Westernport is
sister-city Piedmont, West Virginia. The Western Maryland Railway served Westernport, and the
Baltimore & Ohio (now CSX) served Piedmont. The Georges Creek Rail Road (later, Cumberland &
Pennsylvania) came down the Creek to Westernport, crossed over to Piedmont, and interchanged with
the B&O.

The C&P’s Westernport shops were damaged by flood in 1884, and burned in 1922. They were not
replaced. The WM station at Westernport is preserved as a museum.

The first known record of a settlement in Westernport is from a French Military map of 1758. In 1774,
the area was known as Hardscrabble, probably due to the rocky soil. In the mid-1790’s the area became
know by its current name, reflecting the westernmost navigable point on the Potomac. Coal and timber
was loaded onto flatboats on the Potomac at Westernport, and taken down as far as Great Falls. There
was no practical solution to get the boats back, so they were sold, or broken up and sold for timber.

Westernport is a town of some 2100 people. The adjacent town of Luke, Maryland, hosts the Mead-
Westvaco Paper Mill, a major employer in the area.

Boats from Westernport sometimes were used to carry coal to Cumberland on the Potomac River. The
C&O Canal was supposed to continue to the Ohio river, but had funding problems. One of the
proposed westward paths, surveyed in the 1 820's by Washington's Potomack Company, went by way of
Westernport and the North Branch of the Potomac, using a series of lift locks and inclined planes.

Woodland

This small community of some 113 people (2010 census) is located south of Frostburg along Route
936. At one time, it had a church and a store. Both are still standing, but used as residences.

25

Georges Creek Miscellany

The Steamer Georges Creek

The Parker Vein Coal Company operated a series of steamships, including the Georges Creek. It was
common for the coal companies to own canal boats and fleets of coastal steamers and sailing ships. The
Parker Vein’s flotilla was sold at public auction in November 1854 in New York City to Mr. A. C.
Hall. The Georges Creek, a 448 ton vessel, had been built in Philadelphia in 1853. It sold for $14,000.

The Detmold Riflemen

A local military outfit, the Detmold Riflemen, served the Union cause in the Civil War. This group was
reorganized as Company A, 2 nd Maryland Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade (of Allegany County). In
October 1861, when Allegany County’s quota for enlistment was 872 men, 1473 volunteered. At least
7 men from the area are known to have served the Confederate cause, and many others probably did.

The Thrasher Carriage Museum

The Thrasher Carriage Museum started out as the private collection of James R. Thrasher of Midland.
When his various examples of 19 th Century wagons, carriages, and sleighs outgrew his property, he was
able to gain access to the old Midland School on Paradise Street. Today, it is one of the nation’s top
collections of horse-drawn vehicles.

Jim’s father was a blacksmith, which might explain his interest in horse drawn transportation. He had
collected and restored hundreds of vehicles over his lifetime, and never missed a parade. When he
passed away in 1987, the Allegany County Government purchased the collection, and moved it to a
location near the Frostburg Station, on Depot Street, terminus of the Western Maryland Scenic
Railway.

Hoffman Drainage Tunnel

Near Clarysville at Route 40, the Hoffman Drainage tunnel was an engineering triumph of its age.
Built in the period 1903 through 1906, it was hand-driven through solid rock for 2 miles to provide an
outlet for water that was flooding the coal mines. The water had proven to be too much for the steam
pumps, and coal production was stagnating. After an engineering survey of the tunnel project by the
Consolidation Coal Company, a contract was let to Mr. Phillip Jenkins, Sr. of Wales. Work was begun
from both ends in November of 1903 by Jenkins’ four sons, William, Edward, James, and Phillip, Jr.

This work was different from coal mining. The Jenkins crew were familiar with hard rock mining from
their native Wales. To speed progress, a shaft was sunk 181 feet deep inside Hoffman Mine number 3.
From the bottom of this, the men dug in both directions, giving 4 working faces.

The tunnel proceeds in a straight line, except for an 1 8 degree turn located some 400 feet from the east
(exit) portal. The tunnel is a uniform 8 feet in height and width, and follows a downgrade of some 1/3
percent. This put the exit 40 feet lower than the drainage area in the mine, but more than adequate for
adequate flow. The excavation work proceeded in three shifts per day, involving blasting through hard
rock. Working conditions were described as “wretched” due to the cold water seepage. The men

26

worked in rubber waders. A pump was added near the exit, at the horseshoe curve of the Eckhart
Branch of the C&P railroad, to help control the flow. The miners used lard oil lamps for illumination.
Drilling for the blasts was done by hand, with a three man crew. The excavated rock was removed
through Hoffman number 3 mine, and dumped on the slate banks.

Later, a mule was lowered into the central shaft, and served there for 6 months. William Jenkins was in
charge of the dynamite, and his brother James was supervisor of the digging. They stayed in the nearby
Clarysville Inn while the work was proceeding. During the dig, there were only 2 accidents, and only 1
man died. The project cost $300,000.

The tunnel was punched through on Saturday, July 21, 1906 at 9 pm. It was found to be off by less than
three inches. The Frostburg Mining Journal of September 15, 1906, proclaimed, “The Great Work
Complete.” Inside the mines, the pumps were silenced, and gravity took over to lower the water level.
It is estimated that 9,000,000 gallons of water were drained in 24 hours.

The impact on the coal workings was immediate. A tremendous amount of coal, previously
inaccessible, was now available. Over 50 additional men were working the coal. In addition,
conditions in the mines improved. Thirteen miles of mine drainage ditches fed the tunnel. Observers
noted in the Cumberland News of 1906 that the volume of water carried by Braddock Run was ten
times greater, with 2 months of the tunnel opening. The red coloration and the odor of sulfur was noted
as far downstream as Wills Creek in the Narrows.

Tunnel maintenance was maintained until about 1953. The mines stopped working around 1960. As of
February 2000, the concrete portal arch at the east or drainage end is still standing. The overburden
upstream for some 30 meters is gone, and some timbering can be seen in the stream bed. The water
seems to emerge upward from the end of a blind canyon, and flow through the arch. The inscription on
the arch can still be clearly read: “1903-1906, Hoffman Drainage Tunnel, Length 2 miles.”

The east end of the tunnel, with its associated concrete arch is located next of one of the bridge
abutments that carried the C&P horseshoe curve over the creek at that point. The water flow is still
quite brisk, with no obvious smell of sulfur, but with a decided red tinge to the water. Unfortunately,
the tunnel outflow still feeds into Braddock Run, then Wills Creek, and the Potomac, eventually
reaching the Chesapeake Bay. One generation's solution to a problem becomes a problem for
succeeding generations.

27

The C&O Canal at Georges Creek

The canal never was built west of Cumberland, but the many paths to the Ohio River had been
surveyed. The Potomack Company did a survey for a waterway along the southern route in 1784. As it
turns out, the B&O railroad used two of the possible paths on its way to the Ohio. This is not
surprising, as there are few good options through the steep grades of the Alleghenies, and no complete
water-level route. The Congress had in 1824 authorized the President "to cause the necessary surveys,
plans, and estimates to be made of the routes of such roads and canals as he may deem of national
importance in a commercial or military point of view, or necessary for transportation of the public
mail,..."

The survey of potential canal paths west by the Corps of Engineers in 1876 found the prior surveys of
Col. Thomas S. Sedgwick valid. He had used the prior work of Captain William G. McNeill,
Topological Engineer, under the direction of the Board of Engineers for Internal Improvement, in 1824.
This extended a series of surveys by the Potomack Company. These, in turn, went back to the
surveying work of G. Washington for Lord Fairfax, and the detailed knowledge of the terrain by the
agents of the Ohio Company (Gist, Cresap, and others) The new surveys included considerations of the
sources of water, the cost of construction, the time required, and the relative merits of the routes.
Sedgewick relied heavily on “lessons learned” of the European, particularity the French, canal system
(Graeff, Construction des Canaux et des Chemins de Fer, Paris, 1861). A comprehensive study was
submitted by Brigadier General A. A. Humphreys, Chief of Engineers, to the Secretary of War, and
submitted to the 44th Congress. The building of the western extension continued to be of interest
during World War I and as part of the New Deal Public Works Projects. But the reality of the costs
always prevailed.

George Washington was a staunch support of trans-Appalachian routes for commerce. Before the
Revolution, he saw the potential opportunity of opening up the lands for commerce. He explored ways
of connecting the Potomac and the Ohio, even if it involved portages. He estate, Mount Vernon, was on
the Potomac, and convenient to the Port of Alexandria. Washington had acquired lands in "the West","
and received more in Western Pennsylvania as a result of his service in the Revolution. After he
resigned his commission, he turned back to farming, and his interest in his western lands. He set off
again in 1784 to search for the elusive passage to the West, and to collect back rents.

Washington discussed the Potomack Company with his peers, a distinguished group of wealthy
landholders in Virginia. Then, his country called upon him again for service, as the President, This he
reluctantly accepted, and this took his attentions away from the West. He did worry, however, that
without adequate means of commerce and communication, the country west of the Appalachians might
become another Nation, influenced by the British, the French, or the Spanish.

Washington's vision was a good one, not totally supported by the technology of the day. Washington
had seen Rumsey's steamboat operate on the Potomac. It is not clear that he had ever seen or heard of a
railroad. He was open to new technologies, but the required ones would mature after he was gone.

The two options involved different routes, we'll call the north and the south. The North route went up
Will's Creek from its juncture with the Potomac, through the Narrows, and into Pennsylvania. Then it
headed west up and through the mountain, and to the Castleman and Youghiogheny Rivers, then to the
Monongahela River and Pittsburgh, the other route is up the Savage River to Deep Creek and the
Youghiogheny and the Junction with the Castleman. From Georgetown to Pittsburgh, the elevation

28

gain was 3,837 feet. This was more than what had been considered feasible up to that time..

The survey team also went to the headwaters of the Potomac at the Fairfax Stone, in order to explore an
option using the Black Water fork of the Cheat River. Unfortunately, this expedition had to turn back
due to excessive snowfall.

The southern option involved following the Potomac to the confluence of the Savage River, then up the
Savage to the Castleman. From Cumberland to Westernport, and a mile or so beyond would have been
easy. The route is water-level, along the Potomac River. Shortly there after, Backbone Mountain is in
the way. An early design involved a long tunnel, with a feeder lake in Garrett County. The tunnel
would have been longer than any attempted yet in the world. Curiously, the lake would later be built as
a source of hydroelectric power, and recreational boating. It is called Deep Creek Lake, an artificial
lake of 3,900 acres extent. The proposed summit reservoirs were to have a capacity of over 252 million
cubic feet, and a surface area of some 200 acres.

The report mentions that, although this route, the North Branch Route, was inferior to the Wills Creek
one by having a higher summit level and a longer required tunnel. The local line extension form
Cumberland to at least the confluence of Georges Creek at Westernport would be important for the coal
trade. This would save 28 miles of rail transportation, but rail transportation was established by then.
The section from Georges Creek to the Savage River was going to be problematical, due to existing
bridges, mills, and the Town of Piedmont. I'll bet Senator Davis would have supported this, along with
his West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad, his Piedmont & Cumberland, Cumberland and
Piedmont, Potomac & Piedmont Coal & Railroad Company, and the Bloomington & Fairfax Railroad.
This extension would had added 30.5 miles to the canal at Cumberland. The drop in elevation is 335.3
feet, requiring 43 locks. The Savage River would be used as a feeder water supply.

This option would have a dam across the Potomac some 600 feet below the mouth of the Savage River.
From the dam it was about 1/2 mile to "the Honorable H. G. Davis' sawmills." Boats would pass into
the Potomac at a river lock upstream of Piedmont. The C&P Bridge crossing from Westernport to
Piedmont would need to be raised or relocated. An alternative taking the canal through the center of
Piedmont was considered and discarded, because of potential conflicts with the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad. The Luke Paper Mill was built in 1888. It required large amounts of pulp wood. It occupied
land that could have been used by the canal.

Another option would have been to terminate the canal before Piedmont, and use an extension of the
C&P Railroad to reach it. Lock 19 would have been the Keyser lock. Keyser, once known as New
Creek, was the site of major B&O yard facilities, and has a brick station. It was also the northern
Terminus of the Twin Mountain & Potomac Railroad, an agricultural hauler. The canal line basically
follows the B&O Railroad. At Rawlings, the canal would enter and follow the river for a while. This
happens again further east, where the canal would enter the river for over a mile. Lock 39 would be at
Warrior Run. From Cumberland to Georges Creek, the cost would have been almost two and a quarter
million dollars. It was estimated this option would drop the cost of coal transportation to tidewater at
$1.65 per ton compared to the railroads. The then-current cost of coal transportation by the railroad was
$3.26 per ton for the 212 miles required.

29

Bibliography

Alderton, Jeff “Time Capsule, Silk mill on first statewide list of threatened historic properties,” Cum-
berland Times-News, March 28, 2007

Alexander, John H. "George's Creek Coal and Iron Company," 1836. [Baltimore?, 1837], available:
FSU lib: Special Collections, Noncirculating, TN805.Z6G3, also Pratt, D9549.G4A3q.

Baker, Linda, “My Hometown Growing Up, and Living, in Clarysville,” J. Alleghenies, Vol. L-2014,
pp. 3-15, publication of the Council of the Alleghenies.

Beachley, Charles E. History of the Consolidated Coal Company 1864-1934, 1934, Consolidation Coal
Company, New York.

Bishop, James W. The Glass Industry of Allegany County, Maryland, 1968, Commercial Press Printing,
Cumberland, Md.

Buckley, Geoffrey L. “ The Environmental Transformation of an Appalachian Valley, 1850-1906" ,
April 1998, The Geographical Review, Vol. 88, n2 ppl75-198.

Buckley, Mary Colleen, From up the crick, 1982, Allegany College of Maryland, F189.M48.B82.1982

Feldstein, Albert L. Feldstein’s Historic Coal Mining and Railroads of Allegany County, Maryland,
Publisher Albert L. Feldstein, 2000, ISBN 0-970 1605-0-X.

Harvey, Katherine A. The Best-Dressed Miners - Life and Labor in the Maryland Coal Region 1835-
1910, 1969, Cornell University Press.

Harvey, Katherine A. "The Lonaconing Journals: The Founding of a Coal and Iron Community 1837-
1840," March 1977, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society . Philadelphia, Vol. 67, Part 2.

Harvey, Katherine A. "Building a Frontier Ironworks: Problems of Transport and Supply, 1837-1840."
Maryland Historical Magazine, Summer 1975, Volume 70, number 2, pages 149-166.

Hicks, W. Ray, “The Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad," March 1945, Locomotive & Railroad
Historical Society (L&RHS) Bulletin, No. 66, pp. 36-50.

Hicks, W. Ray, “The Georges Creek and Cumberland Railroad," March, 1952, L&RHS Bulletin, No.
85.

Hunt J. William, “C&P Make Tracks in Early Years,” April 25, 1965, Cumberland Times. A cross the
Desk.

Keller, Vagel C. Underground coal mining in Western Maryland, 1876-1977: a reference guide,
Frostburg State University, 2008, 462 pages.

Kline, Benjamin F.G., Jr. Tall Pines and Winding Rivers The Logging Railroads of Maryland, 1976.

30

Lacoste, Kenneth C., Wall, Robert D. An Archeological Study of the Western Maryland Coal Region:
The Historic Resources, 1989, Maryland Geological Survey.

Mellander, Deane. Rails to the Big Vein, the Short Lines of Allegany County, Maryland, January, 1981,
Potomac Chapter, NRHS, Inc.

Mellander, Deane Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad, 1981, Carstens Publishers, Inc., ISBN
911868-42-9.

Nicolls, William Japser. Above Ground and Below in the Georges Creek Coal Region, 1898,
Consolidation Coal Company, Baltimore.

Randolph, B.S. “History of the Maryland Coal Region,” Journal of the Alleghenies . Vol. XXIX- 1993,
pp. 47-62.

Rankin, Robert G., Report on Cumberland Coal Basin, 1855, New York: John F. Trow, Printer.

Scharf, J. Thomas, History of Western Maryland, being a history of Frederick, Montgomery, Carroll,
Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties from the earliest period to the present day, including
biographical sketches of their representative men, 2 volumes, Philadelphia, 1882.

Scott, Harold L. Glorious Old Pompey Smash, A Western Maryland Coal Mining Town, 199, LOC 91-
90277, ASIN: B0006EX9AI.

Stakem, Karen Hersick Klondike: A Coal Mining Town, 1999, Frostburg University Library, F189.K57
K57 1999.

Stakem, Patrick H., "The Georges Creek Railroad 1853-1863," Nov. 1995, The Automatic Block. Vol.
17, No. 11. The Automatic Block is the newsletter of the Western Maryland Chapter of the National
Railway Historical Society in Cumberland, Maryland.

Stakem, Patrick H., "Coal to the Western Terminus; Canal-Railroad Connections in Cumberland, Md."
Sept. 1995, On the Towpath. publication of the C&O Canal Historical Society, Vol. XXVII, no. 3, p.
10 - 11 .

Stakem, Patrick H. Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad Revisited, 2002, Pats Railroad Books. ISBN
0-9725966-0-7.

Stakem, Patrick H. Lonaconing Residency: Iron Technology & the Railroad, PRB Publishing, 2008,
ASIN B004L62DNQ.

Stakem, Patrick H. “The Earliest Railroad Activities in Western Maryland, 1828-1870,” 1996, J.
Alleghenies, Vol. XXXII, ISSN-0276-7449.

Stakem, Patrick H. “The C&O Canal Extension Westward from Cumberland,” Patrick H. Stakem,
2011, Journal of the Alleghenies.

Stakem, Patrick H. T. H. Paul and J. A. Millholland, Master Locomotive Builders of Western

31

Maryland, 2011, PRRB Publishing, ASIN B004LGTOQU

Stakem, Patrick H. History of the Industrial Revolution in Western Maryland, 2010, revised 2012,
PRRB Publishing, ASIN B004LX0JB2.

Stakem, Patrick H,. Tracks Along the Ditch, Relationships between the C&O Canal and the Railroads,
2012, PRRB Publishing, ASIN B008LB6VKI.

Stakem, Sharon Hersick Klondike, A Coal Mining Town, available, Frostburg University Library,
Special Collections, F189,K57 K57 1999.

Stegmaier, Harry, Jr., et al. Allegany County - A History, 1976, McClain Publishing, Parsons, WV.

Thomas, LL.D., James W., Williams, Judge T.J.C. History of Allegany County, Maryland, 1923,
reprinted 1969, Baltimore, Regional Publishing Co. (p. 626-628, Millholland).

Toenges, Albert L. Investigation of Lower coal beds in Georges Creek and north part of Upper
Potomac Basins, Allegany and Garrett Counties, Md: Reserves, petrographic, ... , United States
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, 1949, ASIN B0007HXHZG.

Trussell, Rebecca M. “The Klotz Throwing Company in Lonaconing: Opening Tut's tomb,” Textile
Society of America Symposium Proceedings, 2002, available: digitalCommons@, University of
Nebraska.

Urbas, Anton “GC&CRR Passenger Train Service,” 1993, J. Alleghenies, Vol. XXIX-1993, pp. 38-47.

Walsh & Fox. Maryland: A History: 1632 - 1974, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, 1974.

Ware, Donna M., Green Glades and Sooty Gob Piles, 1991, Maryland Historical Trust.

White, John H. "James Millholland and Early Railroad Engineering". Contributions From the Museum
of History and Technology #252 (1968): 3-36.

Other

Cities, Villages and Towns of Allegany County, Maryland and how they got their names...
http:www.ahe. lib. md.us/allplsys/verticsl\cities/htm

First Annual Report of Peter Cain, Mine Inspector for Allegany and Garrett Counties, Cumberland,
Maryland, December 30, 1877.

(Reprint) Boyd’s Georges Creek Directory, 1887, Preservation Society of Allegany County, Allegany
College of Maryland Library, F187.A4.A44

“92 Years of Transportation Progress by the C&P Railroad and its Contribution towards the
Development of Cumberland, and Allegany County, Maryland ,” 1937, C&P Railroad, Cumberland,
Md.

32

Rail Tracks in Allegany County, Maryland, Book 1, 1980, Preservation Society of Allegany County,
Md., Cumberland, Md.

Report of President & Board of Directors of Cumberland Coal & Iron Company to the Stockholders,
Feb. 11, 1853, New York: John F. Trow, Printer.

James A. Millholland Collection, 1866-1899 #163, Archives Center, National Museum of American
History, Smithsonian Institution.

Lonaconing - Home in the Hills, 1986, Lonaconing, MD.

Otto, Mary “Grasping for a Thread of Hope, Long-Shut Silk Mill's Memories Inspire Preservation
Effort”, Washington Post, September 7, 2004; Page B01.

Wyckoff, William C. Silk Manufacturing in the United States, 1883, Silk Association of America.
Whetsel, Dan Allegany County, Arcadia Press, Images of American Series, 2011, ISBN 0-7385-8704-4.
Allegany High School (Cumberland, MD) Oral History Project.

Society of Industrial Archeology, Vol. 36 No 3 Summer 2007 (Silk Mill)

J. Alleghenies, Vol. XXII, 1986, Silk Mill.

Charters, Acts of Legislation, and By-laws relating to the Consolidation Coal Company and the
Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company of Maryland, 1872, New York, William R. Vidal,
Stationer.

Frostburg Mining Journal . Jan. 13, 1872, (rail passenger service).

Coal Industry in Allegany County; Georges Creek coal mines; Ocean Mine no. 1 an oral history
interview; Allegany County Local History Program, 1976, cassette. Allegany College of Maryland
Library.

http://georgescreekchurches.com/index.html
http ://lonaconing.cc/ gch 1 9 .html
http://www.midlandvfd.org/id 1 .html
www.cumberlandglass.org

Wikipedia (various articles) Material from Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) is used under the
conditions of the Creative commons Attribution- Share Alike #.0 Unported License.

« http://creativecommons.Org/licenses/bv-sa/3.0 »

http://www.thethrashercarriagemuseum.com/

33

Georges Creek Watershed Association http://gcwsa.org/historv.html info@gcwsa.org
Georges Creek Coalfield, http://www.coalcampusa.com/westmd/george/george.htm

34

Holdings of the George's Creek Regional Library, Allegany County Library System, Lonaconing,
MI).

J. William Hunt, "Across the Desk," a Cumberland Times-News column, complete set of twelve vol-
umes from 1945 to 1968.

Kaplan, Jim. Lefty Grove, American Original. Cleveland, Ohio: Society for American Baseball Re-
search, 2000. 314 pages.

Levy, Ruth Bear. "Recollections of Lefty Grove: Baseball's Greatest Left-handed Pitcher." Maryland
Historical Magazine, Volume 82, Number 2; Summer, 1987, pages 165-176.

Barton, Coal Mining Town. 150th Anniversary of the Settlement of Barton [1853-2003]. 248 pages.

First Presbyterian Church Homecoming 2004. Lonaconing, MD, First Presbyterian Church.

Lonaconing Library, Main Street, 1929-1943 ... closed when WP A went out of existence. (A scrap-
book of newspaper articles.)

Midland, Maryland, the First 150 Years, 1850-2000. Confluence, Pennsylvania: Sesquicentennial Com-
mittee, 2000. 248 pages.

1898 Directory (separate directories of Barton, Lonaconing, Mt. Savage, Westernport, Cumberland,
Maryland). Preservation Society of Allegany County, Maryland, 1970? Reprint, 26 pages.

Allegany County: Pictorial History. Cumberland, Maryland: Cumberland Times-News, 2003. 96 pages.

Allegany County: Pictorial History II. Cumberland, Maryland: Cumberland Times-News, 2004. 96
pages.

Allegany County ... Quality of Life. Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, 2002.40 pages.

"Allegany County Veterans of World War II; Through Their Service." Allegany High School Social
Studies Department Publication, Vol IV. Cumberland, Maryland: Allegany High School, 2002. 83
pages.

Allegany County, Western Maryland. Western Maryland Chamber of Commerce, 1969.

Curtis, Jennifer Keats. "Endangered Maryland Maryland Life, America in Miniature, Volume 3, Issue
2, March/ April 2007, pages 49-63. Includes Lonaconing Silk Mill, pages 52- 53.

Bicentennial Souvenir Program, "Operation Gateway's 8th Annual Heritage Days, June 18, 19,20,
1976." [Operation Gateway is a volunteer organization dedicated ... scenic and historical attractions of
Allegany County, Maryland.] 30 pages.

35

"Prime Time, a History of Allegany County During the 1950's." Allegany High School Social Studies
Department Publication. Cumberland, Maryland: Allegany High School Oral History Program, Volume
VI, 2004. 136 pages.

"Surviving the Great Depression, a History of Allegany County During the 1930' s," Allegany High
School Oral History, Volume III. Cumberland, Maryland:, Allegany High School, 2001.

"Work & Wait, Allegany County: The Home Front Years, 1941-1945," Allegany High School Social
Studies Department Publication, Volume V. Cumberland, Maryland: Allegany High School, 2003.

Preliminary Catalog, George's Creek History Exhibit, Georges Creek Regional Library, Lonaconing,
Maryland, June 2007. www.lonaconing.ee

Companies

Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company 1839. Preservation Society of Allegany County, Cumberland,
Maryland. Reprint, 1 1 pages.

Lonaconing Silk Mill, 1907-1957. Allegany High School Maryland Student Service Alliance Oral His-
tory, 1999, 20 pages.

Midland Coal and Iron Company Report, 1856. Cumberland, Maryland: Preservation Society of Alle-
gany County. Reprint, 22 pages.

1948 Lonaconing Silk Mill Employee Photograph. Employees named row by row. 17 inches wide Text
at the bottom of photograph: "Lonaconing, MD, General Textile Mills, Inc., Oct. 1948"

Environment & Weather

Georges Creek Watershed Restoration Action Strategies Planning Initiative. Georges Creek Watershed
Association, editors. Cumberland, Maryland: Allegany County, Department of Public Works, 2001?

Maryland Department of the Environment, Mining Program / Bureau of Mines, Frostburg Field Office,
Frostburg Maryland. (3 separate reclamation/restoration reports in a portfolio:

Feldstein, Albert L. Feldstein's Historic Newspapers of Allegany County, Volume II, Nine teenth and
Twentieth Centuries. 1987. Frostburg Museum Association collection. (The Maryland Advocate, Frost-
burg Mining Journal, The Lonaconing Star, The Weekly Citizen, Cumberland Times-News, The Frost-
burg Spirit, the General Welfare, Cumberland Daily News, Georges Creek Journal, The Alleganian and
other selections.) 102 pages. Cumberland, Maryland).

"Heritage Review News." Cumberland, Maryland: Preservation Society of Allegany County, Volume
4, numbers. 1 - 12, 1976; 12 monthly issues plus 12 special issues, 1976.

"Heritage Weekly." Allegany County, Maryland: 1976.6 issues between October 21 and December
13,1977; 18 issues, January 14 - November 21, 1978; May 1 and August 1,1979; June 10.

36

"Journal of the Alleghenies." Grantsville, Maryland: Council of the Alleghenies Vol. II, 2 issues, 1965;
Vol. Ill, 3 issues, 1966; (Annual after this?). Single issues for 1968, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982?, 1986,
1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999. Reminisce, the Magazine That
Brings Back the Good Times. Complete set (5 issues) for 1998, 2003 and 2005; several issues each for
1999, 2003,2004, and 2006.

"Talisman." Bruce High School Senior Class Yearbooks, Westemport, Maryland: 1926 Alumni issue;
1929, volume V, Community issue; 1930, Commemoration issue, Volume VII; 1931, Volume VII.

"Valleys of History." Hagerstown, Maryland: Potomac Edison Company. Quarterly, 21 issues between
Volume I, Number 1, Spring, 1965; and Volume 7, Number 2.

Casey, John L. Annual Report of the Mining Inspector of the State of Maryland ... His First Annual Re-
port for Allegany and Garrett Counties ... From May 1, 1915 to May 1, 1917. Baltimore, Maryland. 140
pages.

Murschell, Dave F. Glass of Cumberland Maryland Area. 2002. 166 pages.

Allegany County, Maryland, Rural Cemeteries. Genealogical Society of Allegany County, 1990.284
pages.

Early Settlers of Allegany County. (Fist of settlers in 1787: name, rank, regiment and lot number of the
50-acre lots given to Maryland soldiers serving in the Revolutionary War.) Harvey, Katherine A., edi-
tor, Fonaconing Journals: The Founding of a Coal and Iron Community, 1837-1840. Philadelphia:
American Philosophical Society, 1977.

Fonaconing Post Office Record of Money Orders, 1872-1892.

Payroll, Georges Creek Coal and Iron Company. 1906 June through 1907, November, and two other
ledgers.

Perpetual Building Association of Fonaconing, Maryland. August 28, 1875 through August 25, 1877.
(Acted as a bank before there was an official one.)

Richards, Thomas Witner and Sally Miller Atkinson. The Fonaconing Fegacy, Its Cornish and Scottish
Sons and Daughters. 2000. 384 pages.

Savage, William C. "Monument to War Heroes, Pride of Fonaconing" and "Remember When" [loose-
leaf scrapbooks].

Scott, Harold F., Sr. Incredible, Strange, Unusual Customs, Legends, People, Tcdes, Events, Cumber-
land and Allegany County, Maryland, Cumberland, Maryland, 2001. 144 pages.

The Shield, Valley High School, Fonaconing, Maryland. Vol 1 number 1, December 22, 1954 through
Volume 6, number 8, June 1, 1960. (8 issues yearly.)

37

More resources:

The Library of Allegany College of Maryland in Cumberland, in its Appalachian Collection and
Genealogical Collections, has extensive material, including census records, related to the region.
www.alleganv.edu .

The Lewis J. Ort Library of Frostburg University also has extensive holding related to local history,
including microfilm of newspapers. A research search by the author on the topic, “Georges Creek”
returned 475 citations. In addition, the library has an extensive collection of maps of coal mines.

The Western Maryland Historical Library, www.whilbr.org . is another good resource.

If you enjoyed this book, you might find something else from the author interesting as well.

Stakem, Patrick H. The History of the Industrial Revolution in Western Maryland, 201 1,PRRB
Publishing, ASIN B004LX0JB2.

Stakem, Patrick H. Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad Revisited, 2011, PRRB Publishing, ASIN
B004J8HUAM.

Stakem, Patrick H. Eckhart Mines, The National Road, and the Eckhart Railroad, 2011, PRRB
Publishing, ASIN B004KSQVWO.

Stakem, Patrick H. Lonaconing Residency, Iron Technology & the Railroad, 2011, PRRB Publishing,
ASIN B004L62DNQ..

Stakem, Patrick H. T. H. Paul & J. A. Millhollland: Master Locomotive Builders of Western Maryland,

2011, PRRB Publishing, ASIN B004LGT00U.

Stakem, Patrick H. Tracks along the Ditch, Relationships between the C&O Canal and the Railroads,

2012, PRRB Publishing, ASIN B008LB6VKI.

Stakem, Patrick H. From the Iron Horse's Mouth: an Updated Roster from Ross Winans' Memorandum
of Engines, 2011, PRRB Publishing, ASIN B005GM4012.

Stakem, Patrick H. Iron Manufacturing in 19"’ Century Western Maryland, 2015, PRRB Publishing,
ASIN B00SNM5EIU.

Stakem, Patrick H. Railroading around Cumberland, 2012, Arcadia Press, ISBN- 0738553654.

Stakem, Patrick H. Cumberland (Then and Now), 2012 , Arcadia Press, ISBN-0738586986 , ASIN
B009460QNM

38